Saturday, November 30, 2019
A huge shout out to son Michael for giving me a ride to LAX for the 12:05 a.m. red-eye flight to Mexico City!
Our Volaris Air flight took off on time and four hours later I arrived a bit worse for wear in Mexico's capital city at 6:10 a.m. Central Standard Time.
VIVA MEXICO!
Dreaming of Milano while enjoying
my first cup Mexican coffee at the
Benito Juarez Airport in CDMX
I was waiting for UNAM Pumas and Team Mexico Women's Head Coach Raúl "Yoyo" Rivera to pick me up for what would become an exciting, busy day, a BEAUTIFUL day for American football at that!
The first thing that we did was drive to the Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN), home of the 2019 Mexican Collegiate American Football National Champion Burros Blancos.
Yoyo wanted me to see our Europe Warriors Women's team in action at their morning workout today at IPN. Now that was definitely a far cry from our recent experience in paranoid Austria.
As we both agreed, there really are no secrets in football.
If you are wondering about the Yoyo nickname, it came about because as a young man whenever something needed to be done, Raúl would "Yo lo hago, Yo lo hago." Which means "I'll do it, I'll do it." Thus the Yoyo monicker.
After their warm-up, Team Mexico
broke into group fundamentals
Offensive Line Women going
through their fundamental drills
OL working on body mechanics
A Tackle ready for the drill
Team Mexico QB slinging it
Team Mexico DB working
on her ball skills
The DB coach, Gabriel Cuevas, allowed me to help throw in a few of his drills.
I also got the chance to work with the long snappers on their fundamentals.
Yoyo even gave me the opportunity
to talk to Team Mexico after practice
After this practice, Yoyo drove us to the city of Texcoco to the University of Chapingo where we trained and played with the 2017 Europe Warriors U19 team against Team Mexico.
It brought back a lot of good memories to be back on the Chapingo campus, Home of the Toros Salvajes (Wild Bulls).
We were going to Texcoco because one of the four Mexican U18 Conference Championship games was being played there today.
Before we entered the raucous, packed
stadium we passed some vendors
That used helmet can be yours for only 1,500 Mexican pesos or about $75 USD.
Cool face mask.
This fine dining experience was tempting
but Yoyo said he had a place for
lunch for us after the game
I trusted his judgement.
The Halftime entertainment
getting ready to perform
The University of Chapingo Toros Salvajes
vs. the Siglo XXI Panteras in orange
A Toro Salvaje turning the corner
University of Chapingo on Offense
Pantera Interception
Playing under the shadow
of the goal posts
Chapingo's Field Goal attempt
was good just before Halftime giving
the Toros Salvajes a 3-0 lead at
the intermission
The Halftime Show was in full swing
Good balance!
Great lasso skills to be sure
Of course Chapingo had a
masked flag waver
Viva La Luche Libra!
The Conference Championship Trophy
Close up of the two school's logos
Lots of turnovers in the Third Quarter
In the Fourth Quarter, the Toros Salvajes flinched while holding on to their 3-0 lead. They ran an option play and the QB was dealt a savage hit forcing a fumble on the pitch that the Panteras' CB scooped and scored for a 25 yard Defensive TD. The PAT kick was good and suddenly the Panteras led for the first time 7-3.
A brilliant Panteras third down
quick kick traveled a good 50+ yards
with a good roll
That was, for all intents and purposes, the end of the contest giving the Siglo XXI Panteras the Conference title thanks to its 7-3 win today.
Coach Raúl "Yoyo" Rivera
is a man in perpetual motion
Yoyo and I got back into his car to meet up with his family for that promised amazing lunch experience.
WE MADE IT!
Oh, My!
It was a street taco feast of the highest
order and I even liked the tongue
quesadilla quite a bit
It was INDEED a non-fancy but yet AMAZING meal!
When it comes to food in Mexico City, Yoyo is THE MAN!
Karen, Raúl Jr. and Maria Fernanda
Karen is Yoyo's wife and their children.
What a GREAT family!
I did not want to eat dessert but Maria Fernanda is an amazingly persuasive young lady.
After our meal, I headed to my hotel room for the night as my batteries were in great need of recharging.
Meanwhile, in Madrid . . .
The Europe Warriors Women's
team was at the airports ready to
board their red-eye flight to Mexico City
They are scheduled to arrive in Ciudad de Mexico (CDMX) at 5:00 a.m. on Sunday.
After a 7:00 a.m. breakfast, we'll practice at IPN at 10:00 a.m. with Team Mexico as I understand it.
On a final note, I just found out this evening that for the second time in Europe Warriors history, I have received a battle field, last second promotion to Head Coach for this game.
Team first.
